Street Flyer: A Hang-Glider for the Ground

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Street Flyer: A Hang-Glider for the Ground

The Street Flyer is a hang-glider for the streets. It's like an oversized tricycle, but instead of sitting on top to pilot it, you hang beneath. To propel the vehicle, you run and then just drop into the harness and cruise. This obviously works better on a downhill stretch, and uphill runs are probably best avoided altogether, unless M.C. Escher designed your city's streets.

The design comes from an old Gadget Lab friend, Dr. Carsten Mehring, last seen here on video with his wearable computer. Mehring has several prototypes for the Street Flyer. The one seen here is steered with a pair of handgrips connected to the two front wheels, but other designs could let you steer by moving your body in the cradle, hang-glider-style. Dr. Mehring also suggests that his invention could be used by the injured to walk suspended from its frame without any pressure on the legs. Think of it as a baby-walker for cripples.

Mehring's Street Flyer is clearly not meant for daily transportation, but as a weekend leisure toy, it could be awesome. Imagine bombing down steep hills and slaloming just three-feet from the ground. That has to be a rush.